ALBANY — With the county still in talks with the private firm that wants to lease its nursing home, lawmakers on Monday moved to restore enough cash to County Executive Dan McCoy's budget to fund the facility for all of 2013.

The move, short of an outright rejection of McCoy's privatization plan, marks the County Legislature's first formal response to McCoy's proposed $568 million budget, which centers on the emotional nursing home issue. The counterproposal leaves open the chance lawmakers could later embrace McCoy's plan and also seemed to signal that the legislature will not fight McCoy in his bid to exceed the state's 2 percent cap on property tax growth.

Their budget, like his, would raise property taxes nearly 9 percent. But much about the legislature's plan to do so remains murky.

The changes, which must be filed by Tuesday, were approved swiftly and with little discussion Monday night by the legislature's Audit and Finance Committee about an hour after some lawmakers said they first saw them. Copies were not made available to the press or public.

Growing red ink at the nursing home — as much as $12 million annually — has spurred county leaders to seek a way to stem the bleeding.

McCoy's budget, anticipating a pact with a private firm to run the nursing home for the next decade, proposes county funding for the facility only through the end of June, after which Upstate Services Group would take over.

The terms of that contract — which would include a $12 million loan from the county and other public financial support — are still being negotiated and may not be complete until late this week or the beginning of the next, Deputy County Executive Christine Quinn told lawmakers Monday.

Legislators have asked sharp questions about the nature of that financial support. Some were initially told by McCoy's administration that the loan would be interest-free. But last week McCoy told them in writing that the loan would be at a low interest rate. Versions of the pact have also included $3 million in "sponsorship" from the county to USG over two years starting in 2013 — money that would not have to be paid back. The county would also commit to doing as much as $3 million in repairs to the four-decade-old building.

But with that deal not yet in place, lawmakers — some already skeptical of the privatization plan — have balked at signing off on it lest the contract fall through and the county be left to scramble to find the money to run the nursing home for the second half of the year.

McCoy's administration has said lawmakers would have to find about $2.4 million more to fund the nursing home for the full year.

Committee Chairman Thomas Cotrofeld, a Delmar Democrat, said some of the money came by stripping out all proposed salary line increases and new positions in McCoy's budget.

"We didn't look at departments. We didn't look at individuals. We just did it across the board to be equitable," Cotrofeld said.

Democratic Majority Leader Frank Commisso of Albany said he believed that some of the money being used to fund the nursing home came from what the county would pay USG in McCoy's plan.

A copy of the legislature's budget changes obtained by the Times Union also reflect a $700,000 increase in expected revenue from other governments at the jail — a change Sheriff Craig Apple called "aggressive but attainable."

A request by Legislator Christopher Higgins, an Albany Democrat who is not a member of the committee, for a further explanation of the revenue changes was ignored.

Commisso, who has long supported the county's effort to build a new nursing home, said restoring a full year's worth of funding for the facility amounted to a fail-safe that would protect nursing home residents and workers if the privatization talks stall.

"It's very difficult to say 'yes' to something that legislators have not seen in full form," Commisso said. "We need a budget tomorrow. We need to file. We have no choice."

Even if the terms of the proposed deal are finalized by the deadline for lawmakers to vote on the budget, Dec. 8, some have asked for assurances from the state comptroller and attorney general that the loan provisions are legal. County Attorney Thomas Marcelle has insisted they are.

Dawson said he voted no because he believes a fair deal can be reached with USG in time.

Though Mendick praised the ruling Democrats for getting him the budget changes an hour before the meeting — the earliest he's ever received them in five years — he said it still wasn't nearly enough time to responsibly vet them.

"I can't in good conscience vote for it," Mendick said. "They don't really have, nor do they want to provide, any real explanation. And that's got to make you wonder what's behind the numbers."

The legislature has scheduled a public hearing on its budget for Nov. 27.